When heading out on a luxury cruise, most wouldn’t expect to be told to stay quiet at night and keep your lights off, but there are few other options when trying to avoid pirates. That is exactly what passengers on a recent around-the-world 104-night sailing aboard the Sea Princess had to do as the captain and crew feared they could be taken over at any moment.

As reported by the NY Daily News, an Australian media specialist named Carolyne Jasinski was on the early June sailing which made its way through the Indiana Ocean and Suez Canal. During the day, everything was fun and enjoyable and exciting, but nighttime brought on a much different feel to the cruise.

Not long into the cruise, the captain of the ship banned all nighttime activities for a 10-night period of time. During this time, the Sea Princess was seen as a “ghost ship, according to Jasinski, and it was due to lights being turned off, shutters being closed, and passengers being ordered to stay quiet.

This was all due to Captain Gennaro Arma’s true concern of a “pirate attack” that was probable if they were spotted.

Even though there many who paid as much as $55,000 per person for this cruise from Sydney to Dubai, the captain of the Sea Princess said these conditions were necessary. In fearing an attack by Somali pirates, there were even a number of crew drills in which passengers had to get involved and know what to do in case danger came their way.

In the report from News.Au.com, Jasinski said there were to be no late-night outdoor bar hopping, movies on the deck, or even any swimming. Once the sun went down, all windows needed to have their curtains drawn and shutters closed while the bright lights of the ship were dimmed or turned off.

While there were a number of jokes at first regarding the situation and how passengers watched the movie Captain Phillips to prepare, the captain assured them he was not playing around.

Pirate drills were held, which included passengers being sent back to their cabins for a head count and needing to learn how to prepare for adverse conditions. A few drills had them hanging onto handrails to brace themselves just in case the ship had to quickly maneuver away from approaching pirate ships.

[Image by Jason R. Zalasky/Getty Images]

After advising of the real concerns of pirate attacks, some passengers became overly frightened and began jumping to conclusions. Many passengers started alerting ship officials and the captain of every possible boat or ship they say and it “drove the captain nuts,” according to Jasinski’s report.

While there was no direct or specific threat from pirates, the measures were taken by the crew as a measure of precaution.

During its long journey through the Indian Ocean, the Sea Princess didn’t meet any trouble from pirates or anything else. The 104-night cruise went well, but those 10 nights were quite frightening and something that none of the passengers could have possibly expected. Overall, the sailing ended up going well, and passengers got their money’s worth in entertainment, but having it turned into a “ghost ship” for a little over a week is something that not many people ever get to experience.